After a long day of doing Ninja stuff we like to unwind and where best to unwind but at your local wine bar. Days of reconnaissance of the surrounding area and this Ninja was able to spot out The Wine Tap. This small cozy wine bar tucked in the middle of Downtown Belleville, was a tiny little surprise. It was practically camouflage from the adjacent businesses and for Ninjas that is a big plus. We like places that are sort'a incognito.
My sommelier was a gentleman named Pat. I had asked Pat for his recommendation as far as their selections of red wines. He must have mistaken me for a fruit Ninja because his selection of red wine was a wee bit on the colorful end of the spectrum. I Â asked him again, in a much deeper voice this time that I was interested in a more robust red and I followed it with a very masculine sounding please. He then returned with a more robust, oak flavor bottle of Napa red wine that definitely pleased this Ninja's pallet.
In all fairness to Pat, he was not aware I was a Ninja. I was wearing my urban camouflage purchased at the local Dillard's.
Overall the selection of wines here are decent, the food is excellent and the atmosphere for a small place like downtown Belleville is great. Come visit the Wine Tap and who knows you could be sitting next to a real Ninja when you do.
It takes a lot to earn 5 Ninja stars so Wine Tap I will award you 4.
Ok, Â I must say that to have someone contact me two years after an initial review says that they care about how their business is perceived. Â Ok Wine Tap, Â I respect persistence so I'm raising you a star and making a promise to come in very soon and begin anew. Â I probably will not make myself known but thank you for the offer.
Review Source:This is a nice place, nice decor and good service. We enjoy coming here. I personally would like a little more food selection and that's the reason we don't come as often. However, it is "The Wine Tap" so if you're looking to mainly enjoy some wine (and beer) this is an excellent choice.
Review Source:I have relatives who live in Belleville, and they took us out to this fine establishment.
It's not like Belleville is a "small" town, but it gives off a small town vibe, and has a very nice downtown. Â That a place like this exists in a town of this size is really great. Â I think they do a good job with that in mind.
They go all out with the wine and beer selections, and even have some cool cocktails. Â This is a good thing, but I think they should focus more on the wine, and have fewer beers, but better ones. Â I think the problem with places that have such a large selection is that if they don't have the turnover, then the beers (especially the bottled ones) can get old, and not be the freshest. Â If I could change one thing about this place, it would be to focus on like 10 really good beers, and keep them as drafts only, and if they wanted, keep some beers that turn over well in bottles. Â They had MAUDITE on tap! Â I've never seen a Unibroue product on tap. Â That's amazing. Â I also had a North Coast Scrimshaw pilsner on tap. Â It was okay. Â I would have loved to have Pilsner Urquell on tap, though. Â
I think that the design of this place was wonderful. Â I don't think I've ever sat in a restaurant where they could open the roof, but still have a clear view of the sky when it was closed. Â That was an awesome idea. Â I would like to come here and just sit at the bar by myself. Â Nice ambience in there as well.
We bought several wood-fired pizzas. Â These were great. Â I also had a sausage appetizer, and it was a really good deal for the price. Â Soprasetta, crackers, grapes and strawberries. Â Very nice. Â Prices are fair, and the food was great. Â Thanks for the good time!
Enjoyed dinner with friends while I was on a business trip. Â We had the Baked Brie as our appetizer and tried a variety of flatbreads (Asparagus Bacon & Goat Cheese; Chicken, Spinach, & Feta; and Pistachio) - all of which were excellent. Â I had hoped to sample the cheesecake for dessert but just had no room left in my tummy. Â Assuredly, this will be on my "must visit" list each time I pass through the St Louis area.
Review Source:There is no establishment on this side of the river with a more knowledgeable staff or bartender than The Wine Tap. If you have ever found yourself intimidated when you go into a bar because they have multiple types of beer on tap and a menu full of wine selections, there is no need to be when you go here. They will let you sample both wine and beer, and one of the best bartenders in the area, Denise, a certified Sommelier, will find you the perfect wine (or beer), even if you've never been one to drink wine. For the beer connoisseur, they have an ever-changing selection of excellent draughts, always with a varying selection of appropriate seasonals. I mean, they had Bell's Hopslam on draught and things like Dragon's Milk on nitrous tapped. That's awesome. I would also suggest the SANGRIA. It's mixed and made there and will get your night going nicely.
The food is excellent and is sourced from your LOCAL COMMUNITY whenever possible. So you're not only supporting one local business, you're supporting multiple local businesses: (Their menu states the following: Â "We strive to get the best meats and cheeses available. Â We use small production creameries and local companies whenever possible.")
They recently added a smoked salmon to go along with their other meats for the meat and cheese platters, pick 1 meat and cheese or two, with crackers, etc., and it's good. I must SUGGEST the BACON WRAPPED DATES. Delicious, especially if you're the guy that gets dragged into some wine bar by your girl. You can't go wrong with bacon.
The pizzas are very good, however I do have to agree with one previous reviewer who stated that, at times, they can come out a bit soggy, but that does not seem to be as much of an issue in the last few months. If you're on a budget, the Focaccia Bread with Dipping Oil is only $5.00 and gets you a lot of food, enough for multiple people, and you can get the Marguerite Flatbread Pizza for $8.95. While it's just basil, tomatoes, and mozzarella, the flavor is excellent. For the meat eaters out there, no problems here, as their other pizzas have any mix of thick smoked bacon, sausage, and/or chorizo. They also have these things called savory cakes, which are sinfully delicious wedges of goodness that you can work off in the gym for the rest of the week.
It is a little tight in the bar area as far as seating goes, but to me, it's an enjoyable, neighborhood feel. I don't get any of this "glitterati" thing or whatever people are talking about. It seems to me there are a lot of people in there who enjoy good, strong beer, good wine and the like, and as of now you are pretty much always greeted at the door. They do have additional seating upstairs now, too, but I'm not sure if it's open all the time. The drinks are all made fresh, no mix powders or anything, and again, the bartenders can make pretty much anything you ask for if they have the ingredients for it.
Overall, I suggest this establishment to anyone who wants to have a good night out with friends, enjoying good food, good wine and/or good beer. Family will enjoy it, as well. If you're concerned about seating, call ahead and see about getting a table reserved. Keep in mind, however, that it is the kind of place people go to sit down, relax, take their time, enjoy good food, drinks, and company. It's much like the vibe you would get if you were in a small place overseas in Italy. I give this 5 STARS based on the other restaurants in the area, and there really is no better bar/restaurant with this kind of knowledgeable staff other than The Wine Tap on this side of the river, and, I would venture to say, this would be a very popular establishment even if it was over in St Louis.
I had the Javier flatbread pizza, which has sazitza sausage and fresh jalapenos, along with a Rogue Dead Guy Ale. It was fantastic.
I wouldn't stop by for a meal with a group- the place is fairly small, but stop here for a drink and a flatbread pizza like I did, and you will be pleased.
What a great place! A group of 12 gathered here to greet a long-time friend while she's in town from Santa Fe for the holidays!
We had great accommodations in the bar with a 5 p.m. reservation. Allison, with whom I'd emailed to make our arrangements, came by to introduce herself, and she was available throughout the evening and checking to see how we were doing. Pat was our fabulous server. Incredible wine and beer selections, including a full bar. And the bartender was serving our group, as well.
I only saw the bar area: a beautiful horseshoe shaped bar with maybe 10 stools and about seven four-seat round bar tables. Exposed brick, lots of woorwork, rustic and casual. Warm and inviting. Holiday-decorated!
We all shared:
Baked Brie ($11.95) -- French brie baked in a puff pastry stuffed with cranberries, orange blossom honey and brown sugar with sea salted pita rounds
Chorizo Sausage Flatbread ($9.95) -- Schubert's chorizo sausage, whole-milk mozzarella cheese, tomato-basil pizza sauce and grated Parmesan
Chicken-Spinach-Feta Flatbread ($10.95) -- Grilled chicken, alfredo sauce, baby spinach, feta, sun-dried tomatoes and grated Parmesan
Mushroom Bruschetta ($8.95) -- Baked artisanal French baguette topped with whipped ricotta and seasonal wild mushrooms sautéed with red wine, and then drizzled with white truffle oil
This food was amazing! The Brie may sound rather goofy, but the sweet with the pucker-making cranberries blended so well!
They took an imprint of everybody's credit card at the beginning, then just kept separate tabs for all. It worked beautifully! Thanks, Allison and The Wine Tap, for making our evening unique, exciting and very special!
Let's be honest, the Metro East doesn't have a ton of options for restaurants and bars.  Thank goodness for The Wine Tap!  It's a place  you can take your parents/clients/friends and not be embarrassed.  The wine list is good, the tap beer list is good, and most of the food is good.  Go with a flat bread pizza, the pear and Gorgonzola bites or the hummus.  We have been unimpressed with the cheese plate.  It can get loud, so go early or late for the best opportunity to chat.  And if it's not too crowded, sit out back  in their cozy patio.
Review Source:I visit The Wine Tap at least once a week. That should tell you something about what I think about this establishment!
The atmosphere is wonderful. Owners Dave and Allison put a lot of love and work into the building, and it shows. It's by far the most comfortable bar in Belleville.
Dave and Allison also have a strong knowledge of wine and beer, and it shows in the selection. If your beer tastes go beyond Bud Light and Stag, this is your place!
The primary bartenders, Chelsea and Denise, share that knowledge and know how to steer people in the right direction. Both are classy people who are a real asset to The Wine Tap.
I really enjoy the food -- the flatbread pizzas and appetizers in particular. They go beyond the obvious -- at least by Belleville standards. I've had one instance where the pizza was a bit undercooked, but that was an isolated incident and the staff makes an effort to correct mistakes.
The owners are very accommodating to groups. I happen to work an evening shift at a downtown Belleville business, and they'll work with you if we have a late-night celebration where people want pizza.
There are other good bars in downtown Belleville, but I like this place the best.
Boyfriend: So I think we're going to the Wine Tap with the group this Friday.
Me: Really? Isn't that kind of too frou-frou for you?
Boyfriend: I'll deal. I'm not sure it's frou-frou enough for you!
So the boyfriend and I have an ongoing kind of inside joke going regarding pretension as one can see from the above conversation. It's also always been kind of an inside joke because he has been to The Wine Tap several times with our friends and I've always had to work those days. And I mean, an establishment calling itself The Wine Tap, advertising itself as a wine/cheese/high-end pizza place, in Belleville?? Seriously? How fake can you get?
I take it all back. It was fabulous. Sure, it was almost impossible to find parking and it was super crowded as the night wore on, and yes, it was packed with people who wanted to see and be seen, and because that was so, it was super loud, but the place itself was fabulous.
Service was attentive. I was greeted no less than three times as I wound my way back to the heated patio where my friends were. Our waitress was spot-on with recommendations and wine suggestions.
We ended up drinking a bottle of the Sagelands Riesling (which was yummy) and a bottle of Nivasco Brachetto Vinchio Vaglio bubbly red wine (which was pretty good too). The guys had beer, including the Delirium Tremens.
Appetizers that ended up being a hit included the baked brie. The pear and gorganzola cheese bites were okay. Unique, but I wouldn't order it again.
We all ordered a bunch of flatbreads (pizza). I wouldn't order the chorizo sausage one again, but I definitely would order the Marguerite and the Alsatian ones again.
It was a great night just for relaxing and eating. The Wine Tap may bill itself on that wine/cheese image...but you know what? They do it well...without any ounce of pretension.
I went there last night and it was amazing. Our waiter Mike was great. The wine was great and we set outside in July and it was hot but they had enough fans so that it was comfortable.
We sat by this brick oven and we saw them making the pizza and it looked amazing. I can't wait to go back and actually order some of it.
Their chocolate cake was amazingly sweet but just make sure to read the fine print. I don't think it said that there were almonds....and there'll were almonds in the cake and I'm allergic to almonds..but thankfully no allergic reaction.
A friend and I took a trip to downtown Belleville via Metrolink and decided to walk up and down B-Town's suburbanly clean, mostly-closed main drag.
After finding that Circa (the store my friend completely loves) was closed, we walked back towards the Metrolink, and found this place along the way.
First off, this is definitely not my scene... But having worked in a Cougar bar for a few years, I have to say that this is the creme de la creme of Cougar Dens! Yes. This is Illinois. Yes. People tend to conform in the most evil ways possible the more county/suburban IL you get. But come on!
I'm no Cassanova, and don't take compliments very well, let alone get hit on very often (or maybe I'm just dense?)... But there's something powerfully Voodoo about the come-hither, pleasantly predatory looks I was getting from Ms. Cheetah Jacket. Pan to the right, Ms. Zebra Coat  gave me the same look that my cat does when she wants me to pet her belly...
A pinch from my friend snapped me back to reality.
The establishment itself was very nice, in that hip, Crate & Barrel "We Play Jazz Because We're Cultured" kind of way. It was cozy... Especially for a Saturday night, where we sat in a corner of the bar room. The hostess (owner?) stated that their patio was jam-packed. I'm not one for patios in the cold weather, anyway. Even heated patios. So that was pretty cool of her to sit us in the people-watching section.
I can't really comment on the service for two reasons: sitting in the bar area doesn't necessarily mean you get served by a server. The rules apply from establishment to establishment and one should never comment on service based on that situation. It was also VERY busy. By the time we left, there was a line out of the door, co mingling with the mass of smokers forced outside to get their fix.
If I could venture into the service, I'd say it was prompt. Getting on in age, I appreciate getting carded, and given menu suggestions by our skilled, but busy bartender. I ordered a barley wine (something heavy to get over Cougars' floral perfumes... reminds me of 8th grade English class for some reason) and my friend ordered a pomegranate martini (which was expertly made and very pretty to look at!).
As for the food... Well... I have a pizza stone at home, Â and keep a nice bit of naan bread and tomato sauce around for pizzas. So their menu of flatbreads (call them pizzas, dammit. it's still Illinois!) did not excite me.
However, the "Savory Cakes" did.... I've made a savory cheesecake before. It was with roasted garlic, parmesean, and some chives... Sliced thin and served with some shrimp.... That's my idea of a savory CHEESEcake... But there was no "cheese" prefix to this "cake". So I thought that they might be making something really cool, with a savory confection... Maybe biscuit-esque? Hopefully biscuit-esque?
No. It's a cheesecake. Sans sugar, plus savory stuff....
And served with crackers.
I hate it when restaurants serve crackers. It suggests that someone back there is incredibly lazy/unimaginative/both. Serve it with some mixed greens with huge croutons! Serve a savory cheesecake with crusty, local bread! Be bold and serve the savory cheesecake alone, with some sort of tasty sauce drizzled over it!
But don't treat it like a mutant cheeseball (you know, the ones covered in almond slices you see people inhaling at the wineries). Celebrate your creation! They really didn't here. It was, however, a good price (we tried both the savory herb, and smoked salmon-- get creative with some ingredients, people-- The Bread Co next door has similar-tasting cream cheese spreads)
We didn't stay for dessert, and I guess we'll stop back whenever we're back in Belleville for a drink, since your only other nightlife options nearby include soulless Landing-style bro bars, focused on quantity over quality-- a trait I failed to emphasize in this critique.
It is bold in the fact that it caters to both the local, and global wine snob in a very subtle way. They don't segregate the local wines from all the others, and lump them in by category, and not by region. That makes those decide on their wine based on the description over the region... Golf claps to the owners of The Wine Tap. And I will stop by for a tasting flight ($12!! So cheap!) when I'm in the mood for some vino.
Ultimately, however, I don't think this place is my scene for food, drink, or atmosphere (rawr!) but it's well worth the try for some people-watching. The prices are great. The service is spectacular for a place that insanely busy (tempers calm, noses to the grindstone). I suggest bringing a group of friends here. Just call ahead for reservations.
Great little hidden secret in IL!! Nice atmosphere, outdoor patio to sit and drink wine with your friends or someone special. The patio has a bricked off wall in the back so you're not looking at or hearing the alley, it's great! Â Great place for a quiet date. Patio is a covered and heated tent in the rain or winter so you can still sit outside all year long.
The back of the restaurant opens to a really cool brick oven on the patio side and you can sit and watch the pizza coming out hot and made to order.
Pretty decent wine and import beer selection. We've been here a number of times and have always had great wait service and fabulous food. Never had a bad wine or food recommendation. It is kinda disappointing when you pay $40 for a $15 bottle of wine though. I prefer going to Racks of Wine in FH for more intimate atmosphere and better prices!
Excellent place to go in  Belleville to relax with friends or just as a couple.  Great appetizers and beer / wine choices. Recommend the pizza. Very very good!!! Atmosphere is excellent with the outside seating the place to hang out on nice evenings. Hard to top this place if in Bellvegas. Definitely worth the trip.
Review Source:I was back in the St. Louis area visiting family and a very good friend took me to this place.  Let me say. WOW- I was very impressed by this place, the place looks amazing. Friendly fast service and the Alsatian - Vermont Crème Fraiche, Smoked Bacon, Caramelized Onions & Dante Cheese wood oven pizza was really amazingly delectable.
If and when I ever come back to BelleVegas--- I must dine here.
The 5 best restaurants in the 2015 Denver Restaurant Week
3,611 Views | Category: Denver
The complete list of 2015 Denver Restaurant Week businesses
1,972 Views | Category: Denver
The tourists' guide to Portillos: 5 must have dishes
3,318 Views | Category: Chicago
Pho = Pronounced "fuh" not "foe" for pho-king sake
2,915 Views | Category: Denver
Indulgery selected to exhibit at Collision Conference
2,987 Views | Category: Press Releases
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
Add Your Business
